WriteRoom - 2.3.7

I have not used WriteRoom. But, if all it primarily does is clear all else for a full screen writing space, other word processing applications already do that. Mellel, for example, does. I think there are some others, too, but their names slip me.

Well, WriteRoom sure does work for me. It helps, in a big way, to create that perfect distraction free writing environment for putting high quality prose down on "paper". It allows me to focus more, to get, and stay, in a very calm and centered place.......essential to me when I'm writing.
To me, WriteRoom is worth every penny of its $25 cost.
I found the perfect color backgrounds and font style/color, choices that fit me to a "T", and the words just flow!
Two thumbs up for WriteRoom.......a real treasure!

I would like to revise my original review now that I am a little better informed. I went back and took another longer look at WriteRoom and learned about some relatively hidden features. While WR may only allow you to create plain text and rich text files as the application's native formats, you can save your files in Word and Word XML formats (Open Document is definitely missing). It would be nice if this feature were a little better advertised and were placed under a more prominent location in the menubar (maybe under "export" instead of "save as"). It is very simplistic and is rather lacking in features, but it does offer a decent amount of options to customize it. It would be nice to have more options in the menubar than in the preferences. It's much easier and more intuitive to make changes to the document from the menu instead of having to turn things on and off in Preferences for each document. I suppose that the main selling point for WR is achieved in that it takes all the clutter off from the screen so you can create a very basic document or rough draft. In the end, it is just a text editor and probably will not replace a full featured word processor such as Word, Nisus Writer Pro/Express, Mellel, etc.

Clearly this application will only appeal to a rather small niche. I still believe that using Freeverse's Think and the text editor or word processor of your choice is the more customizable and fastest method that is possibly less expensive and achieves the same results. Try both Think and WriteRoom and see which method works best for the way that you write and which keeps you focused.

Having read about the product, seen the screen shot provided, and read some of the comments I thought it might be good to write.

A visit to my own web site (http://billsey-christian.net ) should reveal that I am no stranger to writing, saying, or holding to the unpopular. In the past, reaction to my own efforts has even ranged to death threat. So, I am no stranger to what the developer seems to be experiencing. That said, I have not seen comments claiming that the developer is evil, but possibly unwise, or complaining about what the review writer has experienced. They would do well to read the developer's own comments regarding the pricing strategy before they write.

Not having used the product in any version, I would simply wonder about the need for the product. That there is a perceived need for the product is testified to by the buyer response. However, In a market place that includes scribus free of charge, OpenOffice.org free of charge, and TextWrangler free of charge, how is it that anyone sees a need for this particular approach? The retro approach of a green screen text editor does not appeal to me, as I much prefer a "text-on-paper" sort of approach, i. e. black on white. Be that as it may, there are obviously those who prefer to pay for the priviledge of using WriteRoom, and the developer should remain confident to supply that need.

Not knowing the chosen philosophy of the developer or those writing reviews, this might fall upon unwilling ears, so to speak, but it might help. I have had a good reaction to the March issue of my newsletter, the St. Louis Amigan (http://billsey-christian.net/St-LouisAmigan070315.pdf ). I hope that it will be taken as encouragement, and that those writing reviews based solely on their own perceptions might restrict themselves to writing about their own perceptions instead of assuming motives that they do not truly know.

Thank you for your time, and keep writing, sir.

It is a relative matter. If you are a writer, a better value is CopyWrite. In CopyWrite's full screen mode you can do the same as WriteRoom. But for only $5.00 more CopyWrite gives you the ability to organize your writing, attach notes (helpful for on-the-fly memos for fact checking or further research and development), links to research, document and project statistics and tracking and much, much more. It is a total writer's tool. CopyWrite keeps word processing bloat to a minimum and assumes that once you have your thoughts down, you'll export them to a word processor for what they do best.

WriteRoom is better suited if your task is word processing and need to add full screen writing and editing capability. As an addon to a word processor WriteRoom is probably the best solution. Still, even in that mission, the price seems steep.